Woodley and Bears met in the main event of Friday’s “Strikeforce Challengers V” event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The main card aired on Showtime.

Bears found himself on the floor early in the match after a powerful Woodley takedown. Bears scrambled back to his feet, but Woodley quickly brought the fight back down to the canvas.

Once on the mat, Woodley cycled smoothly from the side to half-mount before locking in an arm-triangle choke. With the hold in place, Woodley shifted out to the side and forced the quick tap from his opponent.

The impressive win moved Woodley to 3-0 under the Strikeforce banner, and a spot on the show’s big cards is undoubtedly in his near future.

In the evening’s co-feature, female striking specialist Karry Vera did what husband Brandon couldn’t just one week ago: finish a Couture.

While Couture was able to occasionally utilize her jab, Vera’s response to each attack proved overwhelming. Powerful hooks and strong knees found their mark repetitively, and Couture was unable to control the action in the clinch. Vera’s speed and pinpoint attack damaged Couture as the match became increasingly one-sided.

Clinched with Couture near the fence, Vera worked free and delivered a final assault that rocked her opponent on a few different occasions. As Couture wilted against the pressure and collapsed to the floor, the bout was mercifully halted at the 3:35 mark.

Vera moves to 2-0 and looks to be a promising contender in Strikeforce’s 135-pound division.

Local fighter Bobby Voelker (21-7) hoped to make a splash on the national scene in his welterweight clash with Erik Apple (10-2). Unfortunately for Voelker, it was Apple who made the best first impression.

Voelker was dropped by a right hand early in the opening frame and was forced to fight through a swarming attack. The Kansas native weathered the early storm, and the tide changed as the frame unfolded. It was Apple who found himself on the bottom in the closing seconds of the opening round, and it was the beginning of the end for the WEC and ShoXC veteran.

Voelker opened the second round better than the first, and an overhand right rocked Apple to the core. Voelker pounced on his crumpled opponent and finished the fight 83 seconds into the second round.

Brazilian prospect Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (8-2) was considered a shoe-in for a Strikforce light heavyweight title shot prior to a June loss to Mike Kyle. On Friday night, Cavalcante took a step back toward title contention with a TKO win over Aaron Rosa (12-3).

After a moderately paced opening round, Cavalcante went on the attack in the second. An overhand right and a flying knee landed for the Brazilian, but when the action shifted to the floor, Cavalcante threw an illegal elbow that saw the action restarted.

Another right right hand dropped Rosa to the floor, and Cavalcante finished the fight with a rapid-fire ground-and-pound assault at the 3:25 mark of the round.

The evening’s broadcast-opening bout featured Rickson Gracie brown belt Kevin Casey (3-1) against Iowa resident and former two-time NCAA Division III wrestling champion Chad Vance (5-4). While Casey’s affiliation with reality television personality Spencer Pratt has led many to question his skills as a mixed martial artist, “King” showed his grappling talents are legit.

Casey closed the distance quickly on the feet and worked just as rapidly to Vance’s back once on the canvas. A few punches from Casey opened up the space he needed to sink in the rear-naked choke, and Vance was forced to tap just 1:41 into the contest.

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